8 minutes ago, Damien1975 said:

It is only 600 to 800 lights years away isn’t that daily close if it becomes a black hole. The closest to earth is like 3000 light years, so this would become the closest to us 

And its gravitation affect on Earth should it turn into a black hole will be exactly the same as it is now - in other words totally unaffected. I'll still pack my umbrella though , just in case

Jim 

So am I Damien.  I don't know who "they" are but man if they can predict a black hole forming on 21 Feb then  get them working on tonight's lottery number toot sweet and have them email it to me  

Jim 

lol  

1 minute ago, Islander said:

Better pack a waterproof and umbrella just to be on the safe side

 

Islander you are absolutely right, no need to take unnecessary risk with the apocalypse, even one that is 9 billion years away   

Jim 

1 hour ago, Damien1975 said:

This is the number calculated 9.7847e+9 is that 9 point something light years 

Damien as others have said it's a billion times 9 light years ie 9 billion lights years.   Even with a reasonable margin of error I think my holidays for next week are safe against the bubble of doom  

Jim 

So the bubbles of doom ain't getting here anytime soon - good cause I've got some leave from work coming next week  

Jim 

On 05/01/2020 at 20:13, oldannie said:

Since starting deep sky imaging I have been so preoccupied with getting my equipment to work and learning how to process I've never really got round to learning much about astronomy.  However after seeing that Katrina Raynor Evans is giving a talk this year on Astro Philately to my local Astronomy Society - Newtown, Powys I've started collecting space stamps!  On Katrina's recommendation I've bought a book ''Stamping Through Astronomy'  by Renato Ducati and can highly recommend it.  Brilliantly illustrated throughout and a great way of learning about the history of astronomy.

Hope I've posted this in the right place!

Annie

 

 

 

 

Annie don't know if you caught sight of this, I only spotted it today .

Visions Of The Universe - Royal Mail

BBC Astronomy Stamps

Jim 

And the UK is also helping to contribute to putting more junk in space. You think we would have learned by what we have done to the seas but hey it's business, year on year market growth etc so I guess i'ts ok. 

Capella Space Radar

Jim 

On 02/02/2020 at 11:52, vlaiv said:

How about a good book then? Something like this:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/turn-left-at-orion-book.html

I'd go with what Vlaiv has suggested , this is an excellent book that he would certainly use and value.

Jim 

2 hours ago, Chriske said:

So Andrew,  I'm just been nostalgic or old fashion...??😉

Well to be fair to the youth of today can you imagine your excitement if 40 years ago you had the wherewith-all to control a professional grade telescope on the other side of the planet from the comfort of your own home. Or you could go out into the cold and damp and try pointing your own telescope aimlessly at the night sky while being annoyed by the  wobbly mount  and dodging clouds.  Choices eh  

Jim 

21 hours ago, Viktiste said:

Ok, I get the spinning Pizza/angular momentum idea, but then you have already flattened the dough beforehand. I would have thought stars that clump together to form galaxies would orbit in arbitrary directions. Obviously I am wrong in thinking that.

Ah , are we now not talking about two different rotations in different axis of rotation which is closer to reality.   The clump of stars then may well be orbiting around a centre of mass , which will still result in a flattening out of the clump, superimposed on that will be flattening out of stars due to the period rotation of the star itself on its own axis.   I suspect that the greater flattening out effect will arise against the clump of stars itself owing to presumably a higher rotational speed and hence higher centripetal force. Basically if the mass spins in whatever axis or plane it will be subject to the centripetal force which tends to flattening out of the mass. 

Jim

Martin after local astronomy groups you may wish to search to see if there are any public observatories in your local area; one or two local authorities in the UK still support and fund public observatories like Dundee and the Coates observatory in Paisley. Then there is also the Herstmonceux Observatory (Science Centre) in Hailsham and the Kielder Observatory in Northumberland, and the Scottish Dark Sky Observatory in Ayrshire.   These latter ones would be really good to combine with a short break holiday; they also offer special public programs which you can find on their web sites.   Some Universities  (Physics and Astronomy departments) also have public open events but these tend to be a one night per year event so perhaps a bit limiting in terms of accessibility. 

Jim 

1 minute ago, Davey-T said:

Learnt all about the conservation of angular momentum at school ( 60 odd years ago ) so a bit hazy, couldn't remember what bump started it all 😂

Dave

If you want a bit of a giggle due to angular momentum go onto the roundabout in a kids play park (helps if you have a grandchild or similar  otherwise you will get strange looks).  Spin the roundabout then stand close to the centre and while holding onto the bars try kicking the centre post - your leg will appear to have a life of it's own.  When you see the groundskeeper coming scarper  

Jim 

11 hours ago, Davey-T said:

But why does everything spin to start with 

Dave

Everything in the universe was born into a state of motion (including ourselves) ; I don't think anything anywhere can be considered to be truly without motion. As was said above conservation of angular momentum did the rest - think about a ballet dancer as she pulls her arms inward, her rotational speed must increase to conserve her angular momentum.  So to as the gas cloud coalesce. 

Jim 

5 hours ago, Barry-W-Fenner said:

And why is Mars always so big! 🙂

Perspective.  The diagram was drawn from the perspective of a flat Earther so everything is skewed    

Jim 

double post

voila  

34 minutes ago, Craney said:

... and the Earth......????   (🚫) ......

Centripetal forces are not high enough to flatten the Earth due to the planet's density and the resulting gravitational forces which resist the flattening effect  - best you get is the oblate spheroid.  It's all about balancing of forces.  Spin the Earth faster and the centripetal forces will flatten the Earth , trouble is it will also fly apart - see what happens when you spin the pizza too fast!   It's the same process that flattens out the solar system .  Now who want's to start a discussion re centripetal v centrifugal 😈

Jim 

At a simple level I would suspect that centripetal forces from the rotation of the matter in the "proto" galaxy flattens the material out similar to a pizza being spun by the pizza dude.  I bet it's more complicated than that though - good question though  

Jim 

On 21/01/2020 at 10:23, JamesF said:

I have occasionally been tempted to suggest to some people that "common sense" is an oxymoron.  Unfortunately I think it would have been lost on most of them.

James

I turn to Mark Twain on those occasions    "Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience".  

I feel I'm having to turn to Mr Twain more often these days.  

Jim  

On 31/10/2019 at 20:40, fwm891 said:

An explosive looking flame sending hot lava down past a spectator....

IC434 10x 120s, RASA8 f2, IDAS NB-1

 

Francis that is an absolutely stunning piece of work.  I love the colour pallet; your interpretation of a lava flow is really fitting.  This is going into my collection of favourite images.  

Jim 

On 13/01/2020 at 12:32, tommyr said:

To be able to bring a scope out and be seeing deep sky objects in less than 5 minutes is pretty neat. You all know that with most conventional scopes there is no way that is possible, even with better EAA equipment. I do want to dip into EAA with better cameras eventually with my Celestron Nexstar 5 but for now the eVscope whets my appetite just fine.

Tom

That is so cool - looking forward to more reports as you get more use and experience with it Tom. 

Jim 

23 minutes ago, Ships and Stars said:

I reckoned a few years grinding and polishing a large mirror with no promises it will have decent quality is naturally a real gamble. Finished mirror sets in that range on up are decent used car money and thus out of my league. The EAA route certainly has appeal when looking at it like that, but I've always been a dreamer. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't! I thought mirror making would be a good summer hobby when it's too bright here between c. mid-April to mid-August. 

 

Ships n Stars I think it can be satisfying for sure, even cathartic, but looking back at my unfinished 12 inch mirror I think I would start with something smaller if I were to do it over again. Who knows,maybe I'll go back to it and maybe finish it in my retirement  

Jim 

58 minutes ago, Gina said:

I sometimes say that when in my observatory 🤣  I would quite liked to have built a telescope from scratch and even looked into it at one stage, including M-o-M but really would have needed to start it at an earlier age!

Look on the bright side Gina, it would have soaked up a lot of your time and taken you away from some of your other wonderful projects. It's good to have some unfinished works, just like the great composers  

Jim

Everybody's got the fever
That is something' you all know
Fever isn't such a new thing
Fever started long time ago

Captin Smith and Pocahontas they knew it  

Jim